CEO turnstile spins again at American Rec

Barely six months after welcoming Jim Baumann as CEO and president of American Recreation Products, parent company Sun Capital has announced another change in leadership. Effective immediately, Baumann is out and Dale Philippi is in as the new president and CEO.

Barely six months after welcoming Jim Baumann as CEO and president of American Recreation Products, parent company Sun Capital has announced another change in leadership. Effective immediately, Baumann is out and Dale Philippi is in as the new president and CEO.

Baumann took over for George Grabner, who had been at the American Rec helm for 15 years until his unexpected resignation on Sept. 30, 2008 -- click here to read our Oct. 6, 2008, story, "George Grabner is replaced by Jim Baumann at American Rec."

Philippi has held executive positions at Electrolux/Eureka, Inland Steel, Ernst & Young/Cap Gemini, and Black & Decker. Most recently, he was general manager of Price Pfister. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1991.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

Chris Metz, managing director of Sun Capital Partners (www.suncappart.com), said in a company release: "We are very excited that Dale Philippi will be leading American Recreation Products. Dale is a proven leader with a thorough understanding of how to partner with customers to develop great products and brands. He brings the right blend of experience to American Recreation Products to further its growth and enable the company to maximize its potential." Metz added, "I would like to thank Jim Baumann for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors as he pursues personal interests."

--Michael Hodgson

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

SNEWS® View: Though no one at American Rec was talking on the record, and our April 6 call and email to Baumann went unreturned, one wonders about the reasoning for the sudden departure. You don't just up and leave a position after only six months unless you (a) are fired (which did not occur here), (b) don't like where you are working (which insiders tell us did not seem to be the case at all), or (c) have another job you want more than the one you now have (now there is a possible scenario).

In early March, SNEWS fielded several calls from folks connected to the Washington, D.C., political scene, surprising us with news that Baumann was leaving American Rec to become the new CEO and president of the National Park Foundation. We called American Rec for confirmation, and no one would talk on the record. However, insiders confirmed to us that they had heard Baumann was likely leaving for the NPF, but did not know if anything was final. We sought confirmation by phone and email from the National Park Foundation on March 6, and again on April 6. On April 6, we received the following email from Anne Marek, director of media and public affairs for NPF, "The National Park Foundation is in the midst of a confidential search for its next President and CEO. We are unable to comment on possible candidates or the search in progress." Why we did not receive such an email on March 6 is unknown, but it does appear to confirm the search by NPF for a new leader is back on -- if it was ever off to begin with.

It's not clear whether Baumann resigned his pursuit of the job at NPF, the job ended up not working out, or if he was even in the running to begin with. What is clear is Baumann is a very nice person who we at SNEWS wish very well. He took on a challenging job at American Rec and is, unfortunately, leaving at a quite critical juncture for the company -- the beginning of an extremely important selling season with a new rep force for the Boulder Outdoor Specialty Group and a less than stellar economy. We hope that Philippi is a very quick learner, and asks a lot of questions of both Kenny Ballard, president of BOSG, and Geoff O'Keefe, vice president of operations for American Rec. Just because Philippi has no outdoor industry experience to speak of doesn't mean he won't be successful -- as long as he realizes the companies he is now leading are not manufacturing commodity items that can be sold at price point in department stores.

On Nov. 3, we received word that Richard Feehan, CEO of Confluence, was out of a job. Phone calls and emails to sources at Confluence, including Feehan, went unreturned. An email sent to Brian Maney, director of corporate communications for American Capital Strategies (ACS), ...read more

George Grabner, president of American Recreation Products for the last 15 years, and a veteran of that same company for 22 years, surprisingly retired, effective Sept. 30. He was immediately replaced by Jim Baumann, who has been president of Follett College Stores for the last 12 ...read more

Jim Clark, CEO of Yakima Products, has resigned. Jay Wilson, Yakima's CFO, will serve as the acting CEO until the board finds a replacement. Clark will remain with Yakima until mid-June to facilitate the transfer of responsibilities to Wilson. When we asked Clark why he tendered ...read more

After months of silence following Johnson Outdoors sale of the Jack Wolfskin brand in August and then immediately pulling the plug on its North American sales, Wolfskin CEO Manfred Hell acknowledged to SNEWS his frustration in a legally forced lack of communication, as well as ...read more

Keen Footwear, barely a blip on the radar screen of its competitors, and with only four SKUs that just debuted at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, has landed Angel Martinez as its president. Yep, the same Martinez who turned heads as the CEO of Rockport, was the 1997 Footwear News ...read more

Throughout the next month, SNEWS will recap its coverage of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2012 with select stories from the O.R. Daily we published at the show Aug. 2-5. It’s an opportunity for you to catch up on stories you might have missed in O.R.D., and for us to update and ...read more

Scott Kerslake has been named Prana’s new CEO, effective immediately, succeeding Beaver Theodosakis, the company’s founder and current CEO. Theodosakis will remain on the board of directors and continue in an ambassador role focused on sustainable business growth and developing ...read more

New Polartec CEO Gary Smith is no rookie to the outdoor industry and its business cycles. The former president of Timberland’s Outdoor Group (2002-2008) has worked for the big brands, in good times and bad, and founded two of his own companies in the cycling world. One thing ...read more

On Feb. 1, 2011, Jill Layfield, 36, will begin another chapter in a story that is still being written by becoming the CEO of Backcountry.com. Co-founders Jim Holland and John Bresee are stepping into new roles: Holland, who is resigning as CEO, will become the executive director ...read more